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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why I find branding so important. And it comes down to figuring out who we are, what makes us special, personally and in our business, and how to get that our there.

Let’s face it, if you’re running an online business, you’ve got to be seen. And if you don’t instinctively know who you are and how to get seen for that, you need someone to help.

I recently ran a Brand Challenge that resulted in brand inspiration moodboards for the participants. I thought I’d show you the results so you know how branding can help you anchor your brand and be consistent.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been doing videos lately. I admit, I didn’t want to get in front of a camera at first. So much resistance came up. But I have great coaches and mentors on my side and I started to work through it and conquer my fear.

I’d love to know what you think about the video so please comment below.

We’re here for the third installment of Hazel’s branding journey and it’s all about story. (See links below if you missed the first two.)

Here’s a video on the power of her brand story.

One version of life coach Hazel didn’t do any branding before hiring a web designer and the other version that did branding first.

No-Brand Hazel didn’t know what set her apart. She didn’t know how to tell her story in a way that would connect with potential clients.

However, Brand-First Hazel knew just what to say. She talked about her divorce, how she felt stuck and trapped, and how she needed freedom. She talked about how going on adventures helped her heal.

Her story connected her to clients who felt the same. They knew that she had gone through the similar things and could help. Hazel’s story helped her get clear on her purpose and why people needed her. So find your story.

Hazel has decided that she needs to invest in a website because that’s what you do for an online life coach business. She’s gotten a web designer recommendation from a friend, and even though she doesn’t love her friend’s website, she thinks the designer must be good if her friend loves her.

At the first meeting, the designer asks her questions about her business and what she likes. Hazel feels herself getting more and more confused the longer they talk. So she just decides to pick something.

She decides to copy another coach that’s doing really well – as a rebel, bad-ass, boss woman. Hazel isn’t much of a rebel herself, but this seems to be popular and works for the other coach.

She knows she wants to transform women, make them happy, and help with divorce issues. She has no idea about colors or images. She’s really hoping that the web designer can fill in those blanks for her.

She doesn’t know what sets her apart from other coaches, so she just chooses what she sees her favorite successful coach do. She hasn’t put much thought into core adjectives and doesn’t know what her brand stands for, related to her gifts, her essence as a coach.

She ends of with a frosty pink and gold website, with “Boss Lady” written on it. The images are bland and don’t say much. The included logo for Hazel Coaching is bland too. She’s invested a ton in this and has a hard time admitting that she’s not very happy with it. It doesn’t feel like her. She doesn’t feel the “click” that helps her know she’s on the right track for attracting her tribe.

Branding First

Now, let’s go back to the beginning and imagine that Hazel decides to figure out her branding first. She digs deep into what she does best and who she is as a coach. She went through a difficult divorce and what got her through was thinking of it as an adventure, and finding more freedom in life after divorce. She realizes that women going through a divorce who have felt suffocated by life are who she loves to work with.

She realizes she’s a coach for women after they have gone through a divorce and helps them to see life as a new adventure. She picks the three core adjectives of adventurous, courageous, and free. She realizes her tribe are women who felt bound up and tied into a marriage and life that wasn’t working and offers them the hope of freedom and adventure in a new life. She uses colors that exemplify this explorer feel such as greens and brown.

Getting clear on her branding helps her focus in on her business even more. She realizes that she loves to travel herself and to relate to women in a small group setting so she starts planning adventure retreats for recently divorced women.

When she decides to have a website created, she looks at the portfolio of designers that her friends recommend. One does really pink, feminine, boss lady kinds of sites, which Hazel now realizes is not her at all. Another does very buttoned-up, classic, sites for companies in financial services. Not Hazel either. Then she stumbles on a third web designer who does adventurous, outdoor type websites. Hazel immediately responds to this style for her website and hires the designer.

The designer asks her a series of questions for what she wants for branding. Hazel has done her brand work and can easily answer these questions and more. She gives the designer very specific instructions for what she wants for the look and feel of her website. She’s able to carefully work with the designer and loves the final logo and website as a launching pad for her niche of helping recently divorced women find hope, freedom and adventure in a new life. She has a special page built for her upcoming retreats, because she knows that’s an key piece to her brand.

Hazel is thrilled with her new website because she did her branding work first and figured out exactly what she needed for a website. Her new site is the essence of her and the coaching practice that gives her energy, just thinking about it.